The published dissertation of a candidate of historical sciences, defended by Andrei Vasilyevich Kuza (1939–1984) at the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1970, is the first comprehensive study of ancient Russian fishing in Russian historiography. The author analyzed all available sources: written, archaeological and ethnographic, building on the basis of their comparative research a picture of the development of fishing from the 10th to the beginning of the 16th century. giving a holistic picture of changes in fishing gear (hooks, spears, sinkers). The author substantiates the conclusion regarding the economy of the Old Russian state as a whole: for the 8th–10th centuries. fishing was of a private nature; with the strengthening of princely power, fishing began to play a serious role in the economy of entire regions. Fishing acquired professional features, fishing became one of the forms of feudal duties. For specialists in the field of archeology, history, ethnology.